Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 30
You Brought Me Up From the Grave
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A psalm. A song for the dedication of the Temple. By David.
Praise for Answered Prayer
1 I will exalt you, O Lord,
because you lifted me up.
You did not let my enemies rejoice over me.
2 O Lord my God, I cried out to you,
and you healed me.
3 Lord, you snatched my life from the grave.
You kept me alive so I did not go down into the pit.
Join Me in Prayer
4 Make music to the Lord, you his favored ones,
and give thanks when you remember[a] his holiness,
5 for we spend a moment under his anger,
but we enjoy a lifetime in his favor.
In the evening, weeping comes to stay through the night,
but in the morning, there is rejoicing!
Wrestling in Prayer
6 But I—I said in my security,
“I will never be knocked down.”
7 Lord, in your favor you made strength
stand like a mountain for me.
Then you hid your face. I was terrified.
8 To you, O Lord, I call.
To the Lord I cry for mercy:
9 “What gain is there in shedding my blood,
in sending me down to destruction?
Will the dust praise you?
Will it proclaim your truth?
10 Lord, hear and be merciful to me.
Lord, be a helper for me.”
A Happy Outcome
11 You turned my mourning into dancing.
You removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy,
12 so that my whole being[b] may make music to you
and not be silent.
O Lord my God, I thank you forever.
Psalm 32
How Blessed Is the Person Whose Rebellion Is Forgiven
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By David. A maskil.[a]
The Joy of Forgiveness
1 How blessed is the person
whose rebellion is forgiven,
whose sin is covered.
2 How blessed is the person
whose guilt the Lord does not charge against him,
in whose spirit there is no deceit.
Obtaining the Joy of Forgiveness
3 When I kept silent,
my bones wasted away as I groaned all day long.
4 For day and night your hand was heavy on me. Interlude
My moisture was dried up by the droughts of summer.
5 I acknowledged my sin to you,
and I did not cover up my guilt.
I said, “I will confess my rebellion to the Lord,” Interlude
and you forgave the guilt of my sin.
6 Because of this, let everyone who receives favor pray to you
at a time when you may be found.
Surely when the mighty waters overflow,
they will not reach him.
7 You are my hiding place.
You will protect me from distress. Interlude
You will surround me with shouts of deliverance.
Sharing the Joy of Forgiveness
8 I will make you wise.
I will instruct you in the way that you should go.
I will guide you, keeping my eye on you.
9 Do not be like a horse or a mule, which has no understanding.
Its mouth must be controlled by a bit and bridle,
or else it will not come to you.
10 Many are the sorrows of the wicked,
but mercy will surround those who trust in the Lord.
11 Rejoice in the Lord and celebrate, all you righteous,
and shout joyfully, all you upright in heart.
Book II
Psalms 42–72
Psalms 42 & 43
An Exile’s Prayer: Why Are You Cast Down?[a]
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For the choir director. A maskil[b] by the Sons of Korah.[c]
Longing for the Temple
1 As a doe pants for streams of water,
so my soul pants for you, O God.
2 My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.
When can I go and appear before God?[d]
3 My tears have been food for me day and night,
while people are saying to me all day,
“Where is your God?”
4 I am overcome by my emotions
whenever I remember these things:
how I used to arrive with the crowd,
as I led the procession to the house of God,
with loud shouts of thanksgiving,
with the crowd celebrating the festival.
Refrain
5 Why are you so depressed,[e] O my soul?
Why so disturbed within me?
Hope in God, for I will again praise him
for salvation from his presence.[f]
Remembrance of the Lord
6 My God, my soul is depressed within me.
Therefore I will remember you from the land of the Jordan,
from the heights of Hermon, from Mount Mizar.
7 Deep calls to deep in the roar of your rapids.
All your breakers and your waves have swept over me.
8 By day the Lord commands his mercy,
and at night his song is with me—a prayer to the God of my life.
9 I say to God my Rock, “Why have you forgotten me?
Why must I go around mourning because of oppression by the enemy?”
10 It is like breaking my bones when my foes taunt me.
All day long they say to me, “Where is your God?”
Refrain
11 Why are you so depressed, O my soul?
Why so disturbed within me?
Hope in God, for I will again praise him
for my salvation from the face of my God.[g]
Psalm 43
A Plea for Vindication
1 Judge me justly, O God,
and plead my case against an ungodly nation.
Rescue me from the deceitful, wicked man.
2 I know you are God, my stronghold.
Why have you rejected me?
Why must I go around mourning
because of oppression by the enemy?
3 Send out your light and your truth.
Let them guide me.
Let them bring me to your holy mountain,
to your dwelling.
4 Then I will go to the altar of God,
to God, my joy and gladness.
Then I will praise you with the lyre, O God, my God.
Refrain
5 Why are you so depressed, O my soul?
Why so disturbed within me?
Hope in God, for I will again praise him
for my salvation from the face of my God.[h]
22 These are the words the Lord spoke to your whole assembly at the mountain from the middle of the fire, the thick cloud, and the gloom, with a loud voice, and he did not add anything. He wrote them on two tablets of stone and gave them to me. 23 When you heard the voice from the middle of the darkness while the mountain was burning with fire, you approached me—all the heads of your tribes and your elders.
24 Then you said, “See how the Lord our God has shown us his glory and his greatness, and we have heard his voice from the middle of the fire. Today we have seen that a man can live even though God has spoken to him. 25 But now, why should we die, because this great fire will consume us? If we continue to hear the voice of the Lord our God any longer, we will die. 26 For who of all flesh has ever heard the voice of the living God speaking from the middle of fire as we have and has lived? 27 You go near and listen to everything that the Lord our God says, and then you speak to us everything that the Lord our God speaks to you, and we will hear and do it.”
28 The Lord heard what you said when you spoke to me. So the Lord said to me, “I heard what these people said when they spoke to you. Everything that they spoke to you is good. 29 If only this would be in their hearts—to fear me and to keep all my commandments always, so that it might go well for them and for their children continually. 30 Go and say to them, ‘Go back to your tents.’ 31 As for you, stand here with me and I will speak to you all the commands and the statutes and the ordinances that you are to teach them and that they are to do in the land that I am giving them as a possession. 32 Tell them:[a] ‘Be conscientious about doing just as the Lord your God commanded you. Do not turn aside to the right or to the left. 33 Walk in every way the Lord your God has commanded you, so that you may live and it may be good for you and you may live long in the land that you will possess.’”
13 Since we have that same spirit of faith, which corresponds to what is written: “I believed; therefore, I have spoken,”[a] we also believe, and therefore we speak. 14 For we know that the one who raised the Lord Jesus will also raise us with Jesus and bring us (together with you) into his presence. 15 In fact, all this is for your benefit, so that as grace increases, it will overflow to the glory of God, as more and more people give thanks.
16 Therefore we are not discouraged. But even if our outer self is wasting away, yet our inner self is being renewed day by day. 17 Yes, our momentary, light trouble produces for us an eternal weight of glory that is far beyond any comparison. 18 We are not focusing on what is seen, but on what is not seen. For the things that are seen are temporary, but the things that are not seen are eternal.
We Long for Heaven
5 Now we know that if the tent that is our earthly home is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal home in heaven, which is not made by human hands. 2 In fact, the reason we groan is that we long to be clothed with our dwelling from heaven. 3 If we do indeed put it on,[b] we will certainly not be found naked. 4 To be sure, while we are in this tent, we groan and are burdened, because we do not want to be unclothed, but to be clothed, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. 5 Now the one who prepared us for this very purpose is God, who gave us the Spirit as the down payment.
6 Therefore we are always confident and know that while we are at home in the body, we are away from the Lord, 7 for we walk by faith, not by sight. 8 But we are confident and would much prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord. 9 And for this reason we make it our goal to please him, whether we are at home or away. 10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he did while in the body, whether good or bad.
The Rich Man and Poor Lazarus
19 “There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen, living in luxury every day. 20 A beggar named Lazarus had been laid at his gate. Lazarus was covered with sores and 21 longed to be fed with what fell from the rich man’s table. Besides this, the dogs also came and licked his sores. 22 Eventually the beggar died, and the angels carried him to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried. 23 In hell,[a] where he was in torment, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham far away and Lazarus at his side. 24 He called out and said, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me! Send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in misery in this flame.’
25 “But Abraham said, ‘Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, and Lazarus received bad things. But now he is comforted here, and you are in misery. 26 Besides all this, a great chasm has been set in place between us and you, so that those who want to cross from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us.’
27 “He said, ‘Then I beg you, father, send him to my father’s home, 28 because I have five brothers—to warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.’
29 “Abraham said, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets. Let them listen to them.’
30 “‘No, father Abraham,’ he said, ‘but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.’
31 “Abraham replied to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.’”
The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.